Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be
signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in
dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of
fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the
heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud
with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect
and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.
“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day
catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives
on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the
strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the
Son of Man.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
A story is told about a man who was diagnosed
with cancer sensing that the end of his earthly journey is about come to an
end. He went to a priest and asked him to be administered the Sacrament of the
Anointing of the Sick. The man in the
throes of death was able to properly prepare himself for the coming of his own
end times experience in this world.
Today is the first Sunday of advent. What is
the meaning of advent? In the Christian faith advent means coming, someone very
important is about to come into our life. Of course, we all know who is this
very important that is about to come, He is no other than Jesus our savior.
Outside of the Christian faith advent could
also means coming, coming of what? Coming of a turbulent episode in our lives
which could be sickness as we have in our story. It could also means coming of
a problem which we create for ourselves.
Nevertheless, let us not allow ourselves to
get distracted by all of these tragic human events that could come to us. This
is for the reason that the center of advent is about Jesus’ coming into our
lives. The savior will come to save us from anything that troubles us.
In the first part of the gospel Jesus tells us
this: There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth
nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for
the powers of the heavens will be shaken (Luke 21:25-26).
Of course, we only have two choices on how we
would meet this seemingly calamitous end. First is to be afraid; who would not
be afraid when the earth is crumbling before us? The second one is to be calm,
be hopeful and not to be afraid because there’s a God who is in charge of
everything.
In the midst of life’s uncertainties let us
still be full of hope and positivity because our savior will come to save us. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
No comments:
Post a Comment